Sense
by 9r7g5h
Summary: The first time she sensed one of them, and realized what it could mean.


**AN** : Another one of the list requests! This one was 27 sent in by sorbetowl, which ended up being "I've got a strange feeling about this." Thank you! I hope you enjoy this little ramble! Sorry it took so long to finish!

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own Xena.

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She hadn't always been able to sense them. Or maybe she had- Xena wasn't sure when she first felt that small twinge in her gut that said a god was near; whether she'd been young and just hadn't realized what it was. She still hadn't, when she was sixteen, young and semi-wild and riding at the head of her first army.

They were a small army, barely half a score, with only two horses and half a dozen swords between them. They were more of a band, really- they road patrols around the village, hunted rabbits and deer and birds to take back when they returned home each night; the pelt and feathers sold to the tanners and artisans to feed their families and slowly build up their weapon stocks. If they heard or caught sight of travelers, one of their number was sent to the village to warn everyone else, while the others intercepted, determining if they were friend or foe. Friends were welcome, and escorted into town- these were dangerous times, and it was better to be safe than sorry. And foes?

Well, they hadn't met one yet, not in the few weeks since she'd created this little band, consisting of her brothers and some of their friends when they could all be spared from working the inn and farms. But she was the one always asked to kill the chickens and goats and pigs when it was time. She was no stranger to blood on her hands or a knife, and if she had to? Xena would do whatever was necessary to keep herself and her people safe and alive.

Including stopping a priest of Ares on the road, using the old draft horse she road to block his path so she could make sure he was a friend.

Part of her had just wanted to let him pass- it looked as if he was on the road that would eventually turn and lead away from Amphipolis, and in that case it didn't matter what he was. Friend or foe, he posed no threat if he was just walking by. Part of her, the part of her stomach that had twisted the moment she had spotted him, barely a glimpse through the trees, had told her to just let him pass. There was nothing to gain and nothing to lose by just standing aside.

But the other part had pointed out that there was another turn, up ahead, that would lead him right into the village. And the priests of Ares were always well trained- well trained enough to lead an army, to destroy a nation, if they so desired. To let him go unquestioned only put them all at risk.

So, ignoring the twisting in her stomach, Xena and her men-boys, really, all of them except maybe Toris just boys- ran up ahead and blocked off the road, waiting.

The twist only became stronger as he came into view, his mouth parted into a grin as he saw them. As if they were a treat, instead of a threat. And even as her men muttered behind her (one clearly said "I've got a bad feeling about this"), she held her ground and raised her sword, forcing him to halt.

"What business do you have with the town of Amphipolis?"

"You must be _Xena_."

Chills ran down her spine, a sense of unease at the sound of her name on his lips. There was something…disturbing about him, something about that single sentence that made her uneasy, and she couldn't help it. She shifted her sword ever so slightly higher, and bit back a shudder at his smile.

"Must I be?" She raised an eyebrow- a challenge to him and a bit impressed at herself for her bravado.

"I've heard of you, Xena," he continued, as if he hadn't heard her. His tongue almost caressed her name, and Xena winced as her stomach rolled. "I've come to test you, to see if you're truly worthy of leading an army. If you're worthy of Ares."

They all jumped as the priest drew his sword, the steel flashing in the forest light as he twirled it. A few of her men- again, just boys, she reminded herself, boys who had thought they were playing at an adventure, not something real and life threatening- stepped back, hesitation and fear rolling off of them in almost visible waves.

Xena pulled her own sword, shoddy little thing that it was, and stepped forward instead, ignoring the protest of her brothers behind her. She couldn't let this man hurt any of her people, and if she had to face him to keep him from doing so?

She might fall, but she was determined to take him with her.

The priest just smiled, pleased by her decision, and struck.

She wasn't sure how long she fought- not nearly long enough, her arms shaking after just the first few blows, the priest's powerful strikes raining down again and again, one after another, putting her on the defensive and giving her no chance to return. Part of her just kept reminding herself that she had no chance, that she was going to fail, that today would be the day she finally walked into Hade's kingdom and left behind the mortal realm, for better or for worst.

The other whispered a reminder of her brothers standing behind her, her mother at the inn, her friends and loved ones waiting just down this road, and if she couldn't stand against him, who could?

So she stood her ground, refused to back down even as her arms shook, as the sweat beaded down her forehead and into her eyes to blind her, as he covered her with knicks and scratches until more of her was bleeding than not. He was playing with her, she knew it, but she couldn't give in, couldn't back down, couldn't let him pass.

She fell. She wasn't sure how long it took her to fall, but by the time she did she could barely stand, her entire body sore and crying out for a rest, her head spinning from the loss of blood and exertion. She was too slow to jump as his leg swept hers out from under her, and so she fell.

Fell and glared up at the man as he placed his sword to her throat, who just smiled down at her, barely winded.

She expected to feel the sword pierce through her skin- the priests of Ares weren't known for their mercy. She expected pain, expected to feel her life drain out from her, expected to die.

She didn't expect the man's laughter, didn't expect him to pull his sword away, and didn't expect the wide smile as he said, with just a simple shrug- "I'm pleased. You're not ready yet, but one day you will be. Until then, Xena."

And that twisting, painful wrench in her gut flared up once again, and he was gone.

Stunned silence followed his disappearance. What could be said, when it was impossible for a mere mortal to disappear in a blink, leaving the scent of blood and metal in his wake? That left only one explanation, one she couldn't bring herself to give voice to. For to believe she had just faced a god and lived?

Her men tried to speak, but a single look from her stopped their tongues, freezing the words before they could fall. Because to give voice to what had happened, to make it clear that she knew what they all had to be thinking?

She refused, because it didn't make sense. Why would the god Ares choose her? Why future did he have waiting for her, when all she wanted was to make sure her home was safe?

She went home with her stomach still churning, though not as it had been before, when the priest had first stood before her. This time it churned with worry, with fear, with a thousand questions about what the future would hold.

And a few years later, it churned once more as the god Ares (for after everything that had happened, she had to accept it was him, that he had been the one standing there that day) showed himself to her with an offer of an army.


End file.
